Plexus FS are delighted to have been part of the project to develop Dyfed Powys Police’s new £18.6m Custody Suite and Policing Hub in Llanelli.
The facility, which was built by lead contractors Wilmott Dixon, is a two-story, state-of-the-art facility with 18 cell custody suites, interview rooms, a charge desk, open plan office space and associated meeting rooms and a significant area for mechanical and electrical plant.
“We are thrilled to be part of this project,” said Jamie Grey, Sales Manager at Plexus FS, “and due to the nature of the facility, we followed a detailed brief when designing the system, which included a number of specialised units to ensure the safety of both the police, support services and the individuals being processed.”
Unlike many fire-safety systems that are installed in offices, accommodation blocks, universities and more, specific guidelines had to be adhered to in order to meet Dyfed-Powys Police’ policies and procedures on fire safety and included GENT Anti Ligature Aspirators in each cell, VESDA Aspirating Smoke Detection system and Visual fire alerts in interview rooms as Jamie explains.
“For the safety of persons contained in the cells, it is imperative that they are unable to access any wires or leads that could be used as a ligature. Partnering with GENT by Honeywell we are able to provide a complete solution with extensive Cause and Effect programmes for the evacuation strategy which enabled the system to be interlinked to mechanical and damper systems.”
The VESDA aspirating smoke detection Plexus installed, continuously samples the air in each individual cell, providing the earliest possible warning of an impending fire hazard.
“VESDA detectors have multi-level warnings, so even minute levels of smoke can be detected before a fire has time to escalate. And if the system does detect smoke, it will identify which cell the fire is in, alerting the relevant staff in a noiseless manner, so as not to cause panic amongst other cells,” commented Jamie.
In a similar vein, and to reduce the risk of panic among those being processed, the system also includes a Visual fire alert system inside each interview room as Jamie explains.
“When interviewing a person, the sound of a fire alarm going off could cause unnecessary panic and may lead to a person needing restraint to calm them down. Thanks to the visual fire alert system, if the system detects smoke, a small panel, only visible to the interviewer, will turn red in colour. This will allow the interviewer to remove the person in a calm and controlled manner keeping everyone safe.”
With over 200 units installed along with two fire panels and a host of sensors, this really is a state-of-the-art system and thanks to the skills, knowledge and experience of the Plexus FS installation team, the system was installed on time and on budget.
